How Big Is Serengeti National Park is a common question asked by travelers planning a safari in Tanzania. Serengeti National Park covers an area of about 14,763 square kilometers. This makes it one of the largest national parks in Tanzania and also one of the largest protected wildlife areas in Africa.
The wide open plains of Serengeti National Park are often described by the Maasai people as endless. These plains are home to large numbers of wildebeests, which are the most well known animals in the park. Wildebeests are especially popular during the calving season and the migration period. Serengeti National Park connects directly to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya. This natural connection allows animals to move freely between the two areas.
During the dry season, wildebeests migrate from Serengeti National Park into the Maasai Mara in search of water and fresh grass. This movement forms the famous wildebeest migration, which is one of the main reasons many people visit Serengeti National Park each year.
Serengeti National Park was originally Maasai land and served as grazing ground for the Maasai people and their cattle. The park gets its name from the Maasai word siringet, which means a place where the land runs on. This name reflects the wide open nature of the Serengeti plains.
The park was officially gazetted in the 1960s. This made Serengeti National Park the oldest national park in Tanzania. It also became the largest national park in the country. Since then, the park has played a key role in wildlife conservation and tourism development in Tanzania.
Serengeti National Park is one of the most visited parks in East Africa. One of the main reasons for this is the large number of animals found here. The park supports millions of wildebeests, especially during migration seasons. Watching these animals travel long distances between Serengeti and Maasai Mara is one of the most watched wildlife events in Africa.
Apart from wildebeests, Serengeti National Park is also home to large herds of elephants and buffaloes. Gazelles and zebras migrate alongside the wildebeests, creating large animal groups that move together across the plains. These movements make Serengeti National Park a key destination for wildlife viewing and one of the most important conservation areas in Africa.
